Crappie

I do most of my crappie fishing in eastern Arkansas where clear waters are as rare as 5-pound crappie. I have no trouble catching crappie in the highly colored oxbow lakes I usually visit, but put me on a clear mountain reservoir, and I find it hard to get a nibble.  

Fishing crankbaits for crappie needn't be a big-boat, multi-rod affair. You also can cast and retrieve a single lure for big-fish action.

Carl Hartman of Clewiston, Florida, is a guide at Roland Martin's Marina on Lake Okeechobee. Hartman said few anglers fish for crappie in this massive natural lake in the hot season, but the fish still bite.

Keith Enloe of Eldon, Missouri, runs a guide service on nearby Lake of the Ozarks, a deep highland impoundment that is noted for excellent crappie fishing. This lake is also lined with private boat docks, many of which have brushpiles sunk by their owners. Enloe says in the Dog Days of summer, crappie hang around brushpiles in specific locations and depths.

The key to summer crappie fishing is knowing where to find the crappie, not where you think they should be found.

A float and a jig is a reliable method for catching crappie; I always have one of these set-ups rigged and ready in my boat. There's something to be said, however, about mixing things up now and then.